Netflix Says "Just Kidding! We're Keeping Profiles!"

Netflix has sent out the following e-mail to users of the Profile feature, who had been told earlier that the Profile feature would be phased out:

You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are.

We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you.

All of you Profile users can lower your pitchforks; all 4% of you.

Todd on the official Netflix blog had a bit more information on the situation:

For users of Profiles, I have good news to report: we will keep the feature with no plans to discontinue it.

We were persuaded by the well-reasoned, sincere responses of loyal members who very much value this feature. As someone who enjoys helping his four-year-old daughter manage her one-DVD-at-a-time, G-rated sub-account, I identified with these thoughtful pleas to maintain Profiles.

Because of an ongoing desire to make our website easier to use, we believed taking a feature away that is only used by a very small minority would help us improve the site for everyone. Listening to our members, we realized that users of this feature often describe it as an essential part of their Netflix experience. Simplicity is only one virtue and it can certainly be outweighed by utility.

As for improving Profiles, there are no definite plans in place yet, but, like everything at Netflix, we seek to make it better and we are open to suggestions. Non-users of the feature and new members will be able to access Profiles in 2-3 weeks. Existing users will be able to continue their use, uninterrupted.

We apologize for any inconvenience the previous announcement caused.

I have my account all to myself, so I can indulge in my guilty pleasure for romantic comedies and foreign documentaries all I want, but with the level of addiction I've achieved with only one week as a customer, I can totally understand the almost rabid response those 4% of the customer base that use Profiles probably deluged Netflix with.

Profiles feature NOT going away [Netflix Community Blog]
Netflix is Keeping Profiles [Hacking Netflix]